Plainfield voters OK two bonding projects

Tuesday

Dec 10, 2013 at 10:51 PMDec 10, 2013 at 10:51 PM

By John Penneyjpenney@norwichbulletin.com (860) 857-6965

PLAINFIELD — Voters on Tuesday gave Plainfield officials authorization to bond $9.5 million to complete several capital improvement projects, including upgrades to the town’s two sewer treatment plants.

The snowy weather brought out only 3 percent of eligible voters.

The half-day referendum ended with residents giving officials approval to bond up to $5.5 million for work on the Village and North waste water treatment plants, 45-year-old facilities that will be refurbished to meet new state-mandated guidelines for the filtering of phosphorous, nitrogen and metals. The internal components of both plants, which serve approximately 5,400 Plainfield and Sterling residents, will also be upgraded. The vote was 262-32.

First Selectman Paul Sweet said he expects no interruption of service to users during the three-year project, expected to begin in the summer. He said the town will apply for all available state and federal grants to help defray the project’s cost.

“When this whole project is done, we’ll have all modern equipment that will be automated — right now, many of the things we do, like adding chlorine, are done manually — and will give us incredible electricity savings,” Sweet said. “The parts for the plants right now are expensive and very hard to find, so this upgrade will make us good for another 40 years.”

As part of the referendum, voters also approved appropriating $4 million to fund a series of repair and upgrade projects at all six of the school district buildings. That vote was 263-31. Superintendent Kenneth Dipietro said the work will be eligible for a state reimbursement of 75.7 percent, or $3 million, leaving the town’s share at $1 million.

The bulk of the planned work involves roof repair work at the Plainfield Central, Memorial, Shepard Hill Elementary and Moosup Elementary schools whose roofs are more than 20 years old, as well as to the central office building. The bonding money will also be used to repair several school parking lots, sidewalks and heating and cooling systems, and to upgrade the high school’s wireless and handicapped access systems. The work is expected to begin during the summer break before halting and resuming the following year.

“The idea is to achieve parity of quality between the high school, which is about eight years old, and the remaining buildings,” Dipietro said. “It’s been 21 or more years since the roofs at the other school buildings have been repaired. And if it’s taken care of, for the next 25 years, all of our buildings will be up to code and meet educational standards.”

Resident Richard Heller said he split his vote on Tuesday, approving the sewer upgrade, but rejecting the school bond.

“The waste water plant is an old system, so I’m for fixing it,” he said. “But I think $4 million for the schools is out of line. It should be paid for through the school budget, maybe by adding some in each year for a specific project.”